ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Acta Endocrinologica is an international , endocrine journal covering the fields of basic and clinical Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology, Reproductive Medicine, Chronobiology, Human Ethology and related areas for RAPID publication of Original Papers, Review Articles, Clinical Reports and other contributions from all related fields. "This is an Open Access journal. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in the Journal, and users can use, reuse and build upon the material in the Journal as long as attribution is given when appropriate or necessary." It is the official international journal of the Romanian Society of Endocrinology. It is published quarterly by Romanian Academy Publishing House.

The mission of Romanian Society for Endocrinology and Acta Endocrinologica Foundation is to advance excellence in endocrinology and be an integrative force in scientific research and medical practice in Romania. Such progress depends on integrity in the conduct of scientific research and truthful representation of findings. Specific guidelines regarding the expectations of Acta Endocrinologica (Buc) editors for ethical conduct can be found in the Ethical Guidelines for Publications of Research. The journal editors and publication oversight committees of The Romanian Society for Endocrinology and Acta Endocrinologica Foundation are dedicated to upholding high ethical standards in its publications and expect authors and reviewers to do the same.

Manuscripts must be written in idiomatic English and conform to the specifications described below. Papers that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the author for necessary revision before formal review. Manuscripts submitted to Acta Endocrinologica (Buc) are usually evaluated by peer reviewers who remain anonymous; but the disposition of some manuscripts is determined by the editors alone. Authors of manuscripts requiring modifications have three (3) months to resubmit a revision of their paper. Manuscripts returned after more than three (3) months will be treated as new submissions. An unsolicited revision of a rejected manuscript will either be returned or treated as a new submission, at the editor's discretion.

• Original Articles are reports from both basic (general endocrinology) and clinical research (endocrine care), including case series & case reports provided that they are based on adequate experimental evidence.

• Reviews, Extensive clinical experiences and Editorials are invited papers in which an author comments a recently published contribution of his team in an international journal.
• Notes & Comments are learned descriptions of substantial clinical experience with a specific endocrine or metabolic disorder, or class of disorders, by a single clinical endocrinologist or facility. This experience should expose novel aspects of the condition's presentation, diagnosis, natural history, and/or treatment.
• Images in Clinical Endocrinology are to be comprised of a single figure or a group of closely related figures that illustrate the value of visual information in clinical diagnosis of endocrine and metabolic disorders, with an accompanying commentary that is 250 words or less. There should be no references.
• Letters to the Editor may be submitted in response to work that has been published in Acta Endocrinologica (Buc). Letters should be short commentaries related to specific points of agreement or disagreement with the published work. Letters are not intended for presentation of original data unrelated to a published article. Letters should be no longer than 500 words with no more than five complete references, and may not include any figures or tables.
• Book review are published on invited basis.

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• Acta Endocrinologica (Buc) only uses electronic manuscript submission at ScholarOne (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aeb).
  
  If this is your first submission through our on-line submission system, click on "Create Account" to create an author account. If you already have an account from a previous submission, enter your username and password to submit a new or revised manuscript. If you have forgotten your username and/or password, enter your e-mail address to receive an e-mail with your account information.

  
  
  All submissions must include:

• Completed Affirmation of Originality and Assignment of Copyright Form . This form should be faxed to the Editorial Office at +4021 319 87 18 and should include the manuscript number in the space provided on the form.

• Completed Conflict of Interest Form (*download and open the document with Adobe Acrobat Reader, fill-in the appropriate fields and send it to office@acta-endo.ro). This form should be faxed to the Editorial Office at +4021 319 87 18 and should include the manuscript number in the space provided on the form. The corresponding author must acquire all of the authors' completed disclosure forms and fax them, together, to the editorial office. Revised manuscripts will not be published until all signatures are received.

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• The Journal requires that all manuscripts be submitted in a single-column format that follows these guidelines:

• All text should be double-spaced with 2.5 cm margins on both sides using 12-point type in Times Roman font, as word filetype document. Avoid uploading .docx or .pdf filetypes.

• The text has to be in one file along with references. When you upload this file please designate it as "Main document". Please do not insert your names or affiliations, abstract, keywords, tables and figures in the Main Document.

• All tables and figures must be submitted as separate files.

• In the case of Images in Clinical Endocrinology, Book Review or Letter to the Editor please fill in the required fields Running title and Keywords using NA.

• Authors are encouraged to cite primary literature rather than review articles in order to give credit to those who have done the original work.

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All Original Articles, Editorials and Notes & Comments/Extensive Clinical Experiences should be submitted with structured abstracts of no more than 250 words. All information reported in the abstract must appear in the manuscript. The abstract should not include references. Write the abstract with a general medical audience in mind. Please use complete sentences for all sections of the abstract.

Reports of Original Data (i.e., General Endocrinology, Endocrine Care, Case Reports) should include an abstract with the following headings. Each section should include the following content:
1. Context. The abstract should begin with 1-2 sentences explaining the clinical (or other) importance of the study question.
2. Objective. State the precise objective or study question addressed in the report. If more than one objective is addressed, the main objective and only key secondary objectives should be stated. If a hypothesis was tested, it should be stated.
3. Design. Describe the basic design of the study, years of study performance, and duration of follow-up.
4. Subjects and Methods. State the clinical disorders, number, eligibility criteria, key sociodemographic features, and method of selection of patients. If matching is used for comparison groups, characteristics matched should be specified. In follow-up studies, the proportion of participants who completed the study must be indicated. In intervention studies, the number of patients withdrawn because of adverse effects should be given.
5. Results. The main outcomes of the study should be provided and quantified, including confidence intervals or P values. For comparative studies, confidence intervals should relate to the differences between groups. If relevant, indicate whether observers were blinded to patient groupings, particularly for subjective measurements. If differences for the major study outcome measure(s) are not significant, the clinically important difference sought should be stated and the confidence interval for the difference between the groups should be given. When risk changes or effect sizes are given, absolute values should be indicated. Studies of screening and diagnostic tests should report sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio. If predictive value or accuracy is given, prevalence or pretest likelihood should be given as well. All randomized controlled trials should include the results of intention-to-treat analysis, and all surveys should include response rates.
6. Conclusions. Provide only conclusions directly supported by the results, along with implications for clinical practice; avoid speculation and overgeneralization. Indicate whether additional study is required before the information should be used in usual clinical settings. Give equal emphasis to positive and negative findings of equal scientific merit.

Notes & Comments should include an abstract with the following sections:
1. Context. Include 1 or 2 sentences describing the relevant condition and its importance in clinical practice or public heath.
2. Subjects and Methods. State the clinical disorders, eligibility criteria, key sociodemographic features, and number of patients described.
3. Results. The main outcomes of the study should be provided and quantified
4. Conclusions. Provide conclusions supported by the results or clinical experience, along with implications for practice.

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The article should begin with a brief introductory statement that places the work to follow in historical perspective and explains its intent and significance.

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These should be described and referenced in sufficient detail for other investigators to repeat the work. The source of hormones, unusual chemicals and reagents, and special pieces of apparatus should be stated. For modified methods, only the modifications need be described.

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The Results section should briefly present the experimental data in text, tables, and/or figures. For details on preparation of tables and figures, see below. The Discussion should focus on the interpretation and significance of the findings with concise objective comments that describe their relation to other work in that area. The Discussion should not reiterate the Results.

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The Acknowledgments section should include the names of those people who contributed to a study but did not meet the requirements for authorship. The corresponding author is responsible for informing each person listed in the acknowledgment section that they have been included and providing them with a description of their contribution so they know the activity for which they are considered responsible. Each person listed in the acknowledgments must give permission – in writing, if possible – for the use of his or her name. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to collect this information.

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References to the literature should be cited in numerical order (in parentheses) in the text and listed in the same numerical order at the end of the manuscript on a separate page or pages. References first cited in a table or figure legend should be numbered so that they will be in sequence with references cited in the text at the point where the table or figure is first mentioned. The author is responsible for the accuracy of references. The number of references cited should be limited. Appropriate recent reviews should be cited whenever possible.

Examples of the reference style that should be used are given below. Further examples will be found in the articles describing the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Ann Intern Med.1988; 208:258-265, Br Med J. 1988; 296:401-405). The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in the Index Medicus.

Journal articles and abstracts: List all authors. The citation of unpublished observations, of personal communications, and of manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication is not permitted in the bibliography. Such citations should be inserted at appropriate places in the text, in parentheses and without serial number, or be presented in the footnotes. The citation of manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet in print is permitted in the bibliography provided the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and the name of the journal in which they appear are supplied. Listing a manuscript as "in press" without a DOI and journal title is not permitted. If references to personal communications are made, authors are encouraged to keep written proof of the exchange. If it is necessary to cite an abstract because it contains substantive data not published elsewhere, it must be designated at the end of the reference [e.g., 68:313 (Abstract)].

Books: List all authors or editors.

Sample References

Papers:
Nussdorfer GG, Malendowicz LK. Role of VIP, PACAP, and related peptides in the regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Peptides 1998; 19(8):1443-1467.
Chapters in books:
Tsuboi K, Yuasa R, Tanaka Y, Ueshiba H, Takeda S, Ito K. Incidence of thyroid atrophy in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis. In: Nagataki S, Mori T, Torizuka K, eds. 80 Years of Hashimoto disease. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 1993:69-72.
Sites:
U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 04, 2002, at site <http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm>).

EndNote Acta Endocrinologica style can be downloaded here.

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Tables must be constructed as simply as possible and be intelligible without reference to the text. Each table must have a concise heading and legend and must not simply duplicate the text or figures. Tables should be numbered consecutively. Be sure that each table is cited in the text e.g. Table 3. Tables must be sent as separate files. Do not insert tables or legends in the main document.

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All figures must display the figure number and must have a concise title and legend. Be sure that each figure is cited in the text.

Sizing the figure: The author is responsible for providing digital art that has been properly sized, cropped, and has adequate space between images. Plan the size of the figure to fill 1 or 0.5 column in the printed journal (see chart below for dimensions). Produce original art at the size it should appear in the printed journal.
1 column = 12.8 cm, 5.0 in
0.5 column = 6.4 cm, 2.5 in

Lettering: At 100% size, no lettering should be smaller than 8 point (0.3 cm high) or larger than 12 point (0.4 cm high). Use bold and solid lettering. Lines should be thick, solid, and no less than 1-point rule. Avoid the use of reverse type (white lettering on a darker background). Avoid lettering on top of shaded or textured areas. Titles should be clear and informative. Keep wording on figures to a minimum, and confine any explanation of figures to their separate-page legends. Label only one vertical and one horizontal side of a figure. Freehand lettering or drawing is unacceptable .

Color Figures: Figures should now be submitted as RGB (red, green, blue) format. Saving color figures to this format will be more convenient for authors as RGB is the standard default on most programs. Color images will be preserved as RGB up until the time of printing and will be posted online in their original RGB form. Using RGB color mode for online images will be a significant improvement for figures that contain fluorescent blues, reds, and greens. Therefore the online journal will accurately reflect the true color of the images the way the author intended. For print, the images will be converted to CMYK through an automated color conversion process.

Shading: Avoid the use of shading, but if unavoidable, use a coarse rather than a fine screen setting (80-100 line screen is preferred). Avoid 1-20% and 70-99% shading; make differing shades vary by at least 20%, i.e., 25%, 45%, 65%. Instead of shading, denote variations in graphs or drawings by cross-hatching; solid black; or vertical, horizontal, or diagonal striping. Avoid the use of dots.

Grouped figures: For grouped figures, indicate the layout in a diagram. Place grouped figures so that they can be printed in 1 column width with uniform margins. Indicate magnification in the legends and by internal reference markers in the photographs. Their length should represent the fraction or multiple of a micrometer, appropriate to the magnification.

Graphs: Graphs with axis measures containing very large or small numbers should convert to easily readable notations. Example: For an ordinate range of "counts per minute" values from 1,000 to 20,000, the true value may be multiplied by 10^-3 (scale would read from 1 to 20) and the ordinate axis display "cpm (×10^-3)." Similarly, for a Scatchard plot with values ranging from 0.1 to 2 femtomolar (10^-15 m), the scale may run from 0.1 to 2 with the abscissa labeled "m (×10^-15)." Three-dimensional bar graphs will not be published if the information they refer to is only two-dimensional .

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The journal publishes only original research and review material. Material previously published in whole or in part shall not be considered for publication. This includes materials published in any form of mass communication. At the time of submission, authors must divulge in their cover letter all prior publications or postings of the material in any form of media.

PLAGIARISM DETECTION AND PREVENTION

Authors should keep in mind that Acta Endocrinologica - Bucharest participates in the “CrossCheck initiative” for plagiarism detection and prevention. All manuscripts submitted for publication, will be compared to the CrossCheck database using “iThenticate”. iThenticate will generate an overall similarity score and provide a detailed report that highlights sections of duplicated text in the submitted manuscript and links back to the original source(s). The editor checks each ‘hit’ in the report to determine its significance. Large sections, or multiple smaller sections, of highly similar text are an immediate red flag; if such sections are a clear indication of deliberate plagiarism or if the duplicated text cannot be removed by careful revision by the author (for example, by extensive rewriting or appropriate referencing) the manuscript will be rejected. If self-plagiarism is detected before a manuscript is accepted for publication, the author is made aware of the offending sections and asked to either cite the original source or to rewrite the duplicated text. Duplicate submissions will be rejected automatically upon detection.

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According to our editorial policy, authors contribution can not be similar. Instead, each individual specific contribution could be included at the end of the manuscript, in the Acknowledgements section. Authorship should be based on the following 4 cumulative criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy

An acknowledgment accompanying the paper is appropriate recognition for others who have contributed to a lesser extent, e.g., provision of clones, antisera or cell lines, or reading and reviewing manuscripts in draft. The signature of each author on the Affirmation of Originality and Assignment of Copyright form that must be submitted with the manuscript indicates that all authors have had a part in the writing and final editing of the report, all have been given a copy of the manuscript, all have approved the final version of the manuscript, and all are prepared to take public responsibility for the work, sharing responsibility and accountability for the results.

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The critical and confidential review of manuscripts is an essential element of research publications. Every scientist has an obligation to contribute to the peer review process by serving as a reviewer. Among the obligations of reviewers is the commitment to providing an expert, critical, and constructive scientific and literary appraisal of research reports in their fields of knowledge, skills, and experience in a fair and unbiased manner. In order to facilitate the prompt sharing of scientific results, it is also the obligation of each reviewer to complete their assignments promptly, within the editor's deadline. Should a delay in their review occur, the reviewer has the obligation to notify the editor at once. Reviewers should not review a manuscript if: 1) they do not think that they are competent to assess the research described, 2) they believe there is a conflict of interest or personal or professional relationship with the author(s) that might bias their assessment of the manuscript, or (3) there is any other situation that could bias their review. Employment at the same institution as one of the authors does not automatically represent a conflict. Having previously reviewed the article for another journal does not disqualify a reviewer, although the editor should be informed so the reviewer's perspective can be considered. In circumstances when reviewers need to recuse themselves, they should notify the editor promptly, preferably with an explanation. If reviewers are uncertain whether they should recuse themselves, they should consult with the editor.

The reviewer should strive to provide accurate, detailed, and constructive criticisms, and the review should be supported by appropriate references, especially if unfavorable. The reviewer should also note whether the work of others is properly cited. If the reviewer notes any substantial resemblance of the manuscript being reviewed to a published paper or to a manuscript submitted at the same time to another journal, they should promptly report this to the editor.

No part of the manuscript under review should ordinarily be revealed to another individual without the permission of the editor. If a reviewer consults a colleague on a particular point, this fact, and the name of the collaborator or consultant, should be reported to the editor, preferably in advance. With these exceptions, a reviewer must obtain through the editor written permission from the authors to use or disclose any of the unpublished content of a manuscript under review.

Detailed instruction for reviewers can be found here.

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To be considered, all clinical investigations described in submitted manuscripts must have been conducted in accordance with the guidelines in The Declaration of Helsinki and must have been formally approved by the appropriate institutional review committees or its equivalent. All manuscripts must indicate that IRB approval was acquired; and that when informed consent was required by the IRB, that this was obtained from subjects in experiments involving humans. Investigators must disclose potential conflict of interest to study participants and should indicate in the manuscript that they have done so. The study populations should be described in detail. In many studies details of age, race, and sex are important. However, subjects must be identified only by number or letter, not by initials or names. Photographs of patients' faces should be included only if scientifically relevant. Authors must obtain written consent from the patient (EN) (RO) for use of such photographs." For further details, see the Ethical Guidelines.

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A statement confirming that all animal experimentation described in the submitted manuscript was conducted in accord with accepted standards of humane animal care, as outlined in the Ethical Guidelines, should be included in the manuscript.

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Manuscripts reporting amino acid or nucleotide sequences of proteins with sequences already known from other tissues or species will be considered only if they provide new biological insight. Manuscripts dealing with partial sequence data are not likely to be considered. When a manuscript is accepted that contains novel sequences, such sequences must be deposited in the appropriate database (such as GenBank) and an accession number obtained before the manuscript is sent to the printer.

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Manuscripts describing experiments with new compounds must provide their chemical structures. For known compounds, the source and/or literature reference to the chemical structure and characterization must be provided.

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Assay validation: Bioassay and radioimmunoassay potency estimates should be accompanied by an appropriate measure of the precision of these estimates. For bioassays, these usually will be the standard deviation, standard error of the mean, coefficient of variation, or 95% confidence limits. For both bioassays and radioimmunoassays, it is necessary to include data relating to within-assay and between-assay variability. If all relevant comparisons are made within the same assay, the latter may be omitted. Authors should be aware that the precision of a measurement depends upon its position on the dose-response curve.

In presenting results for new assays, it is necessary to include data on the following: 1) within-assay variability; 2) between-assay variability; 3) slope of the dose-response curve; 4) mid-range of the assay; 5) least-detectable concentration (concentration resulting in a response two standard deviations away from the zero dose response); 6) data on specificity; 7) data on parallelism of standard and unknown and on recovery; and 8) comparison with an independent method for assay of the compound. When radioimmunoassay kits are utilized or hormone measurements are conducted in other than the authors' laboratories and the assay is central to the study, data regarding performance characteristics should be included.

Pulse analysis: Data from studies of pulsatile hormone secretion should be analyzed using a validated, objective pulse detection algorithm. The algorithm used should require that false-positive rates of pulse detection be defined in relation to the measurement error of the data set being analyzed, and the methods used to determine the measurement error should be described. The author(s) also should describe the methods used: 1) to deal with missing or undetectable values; 2) to determine peak frequency, interpeak interval, and pulse amplitude; and 3) for statistical comparisons of peak parameters.

Data analysis: It is the author's responsibility to document that the results are reproducible and that the differences found are not due to random variation. No absolute rules can be applied, but in general quantitative data should be from no fewer than three replicate experiments. Appropriate statistical methods should be used to test the significance of differences in results. The term "significant" should not be used unless statistical analysis was performed, and the probability value used to identify significance (e.g., P > 0.05) should be specified.

When several t tests are employed, authors should be aware that nominal probability levels no longer apply. Accordingly, the multiple t test, multiple range test, or similar techniques to permit simultaneous comparisons should be employed. Also, in lieu of using several t tests, it is often more appropriate to utilize an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to permit pooling of data, increase the number of degrees of freedom, and improve reliability of results. Authors should use appropriate nonparametric tests when the data depart substantially from a normal distribution. Analysis of variance tables should not be inserted in manuscripts. F values with the degrees of freedom as subscripts together with the P values are sufficient.

In presenting results of linear regression analyses, it is desirable to show 95% confidence limits. If differences in slopes and/or axis intercepts are claimed for plotted lines, these should be supported by statistical analysis.

Authors should include in the manuscript a list of the software used for statistical analyses.

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When preparing digital images, authors must adhere to the following guidelines as stated in the CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications:

• No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced.
• Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the entire image and as long as they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information present in the original.
• The grouping of images from different parts of the same gel, or from different gels, fields, or exposures must be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (e.g., dividing lines) and in the figure legend.

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